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IDNR officers raided last show
By Shelli Dankoff
TimesNewspapers
Jason Johnson will have his monthly Midwest Reptile Expo Show at the
East
Peoria Convention Center at The Oaks on Nov. 27, just like he has on
the
fourth Sunday of every month since June.
And he fully expects Illinois Department of Natural Resources agents to
be
on hand, either undercover or in uniform, just like they were when they
raided the October show.
³I don¹t feel I¹ve done anything wrong,² said Johnson. ³But as the
promoter
of the show, I am responsible for the vendors.²
Only one $75 citation was issued to an Iowa-based vendor who did not
have
the proper Illinois license required to sell a gray rat snake. Two
other
vendors had baby turtles taken that were smaller than the 4-inch limit
allowed, but those turtles were subsequently returned.
According to Sgt. Tim Sickmeyer, acting chief of investigations for the
IDNR, the show remains under investigation.
³We¹re going over information and putting together our reports,²
Sickmeyer
said. ³The process typically takes a couple of weeks but could take six
months or longer. But this is on a faster track because the U.S.
attorney
doesn¹t want to drag it out.²
What concerns Johnson and others who were at the expo is the tactics
used by
IDNR agents. They use words like ³overkill,² ³harassed² and ³Gestapo
tactics.²
The Oct. 23 expo was billed as a pre-Halloween show for children.
Johnson
estimates more than 1,000 people were in attendance, many of them
children
in costumes.
In addition to a chance to see all sorts of exotic reptiles, like
poison
dart frogs, bearded dragons, veiled chameleons and more, there were
door
prizes to win and Halloween candy at each of the 50 or so vendors for
children to go trick-or-treating.
Around 11 a.m., about an hour after the doors opened, three uniformed
IDNR
agents came through the front doors of the Convention Center, joining
undercover officers already inside. Johnson says there were a total of
10
agents on site; the IDNR says it was only seven.
³I met the agents at their car in the parking lot and asked if I could
help,² said Johnson. ³After asking a second time, they said, ŒGet out
of my
way¹ and pushed me out of the way.²
Dr. Anne Dickison of East Peoria arrived at the show about the same
time as
the agents. She was in costume and had brought her dragon and some fire
belly toads with her in hopes of having a picture taken by Reptile
Magazine.
Dickison stood close to the front of the outer antrum at the convention
center when the police, as she put it, ³shouldered their way through.²
³There were way too many officers going through the kids, showing their
badges, with their hands on their guns,² said Dickison. ³It was a
needless
display of force. That was the thing I was most distressed about, this
big
display of macho.²
Information about what was going on inside was limited.
³A plainclothes agent ‹ I assume he was an agent ‹ said the scene was
unstable, once it was made stable we would be let in. There were no
details
‹ could have been an escaped dangerous animal, we didn¹t know,² said
Dickison.
Don Bell, who helps Johnson promote and run the show, was there with
his 6-
and 8-year-old sons.
³I went to the East Peoria school district and put my reputation on the
line,² said Bell. ³My reputation was tarnished. Here I was inviting the
kids
to trick or treat. I had the balloon guy there. I brought my two kids
and
they never got to trick or treat. That upset me. I talked to the DNR
guy and
told him I was upset they did it in front of the kids,² said Bell.
After about an hour lock down, the show re-opened but it was not the
same.
³The wind went out of the event when the police went through,² said
Dickison. ³I think it was the DNR¹s intent to ruin it.²
Sickmeyer defends the agents¹ actions. ³We don¹t know all there is to
know
about these people (the vendors),² he said. ³There could be potential
evidence, (someone) could be wanted on an outstanding warrant. It¹s a
matter
of safety ‹ safety for the public, safety for our own people. Everyone
had a
task to do. We take care of things as quickly as possible with the
least
disruption.²
Johnson wonders why the vendors were not checked during set-up hours
before
the doors opened or why the IDNR does not set up a booth at these types
of
shows for educational purposes, both for the buyers and vendors.
Sickmeyer said the information is out there and it is up to the vendors
to
know the law. Johnson said one of the undercover agents told him he had
been
at every show since June, looking for illegal animals, and was pretty
unsuccessful.
³In my opinion, they were upset, they were looking for more and didn¹t
find
anything, so they focused on the baby turtles,² Johnson said.
There is a federal law which prohibits the sale of turtles with top
shells
less than 4 inches in length, unless those turtles are sold for bona
fide
educational and scientific purposes or sales are not in connection with
a
business.
That is where Johnson and the IDNR differ in their interpretation.
Johnson
said his vendors are hobbyists; the IDNR does not see it that way.
Ultimately, it may be up to a judge to decide.
Dickison said she had hoped to barter a few of the larger turtles she
owns
for a smaller one as she prepares for a move to Florida, and waited
until
the show reopened.
³I found a vendor that had more than a dozen (of the turtles). The
vendor
wouldn¹t look me in the eye and looked quite distressed. A DNR guy
harassed
and patronized me ‹ he was rude and belligerent. I showed him my
business
card (that showed she was a teacher), but that didn¹t cut it. He began
to
threaten me and wanted to know where I lived and where I got my other
turtle.
³I asked what they were doing with the turtles they (confiscated). He
said,
ŒThey¹d find a good home.¹ I said, ŒI¹d be a good home.¹ He said, ŒYou
may
not have a home.¹ It was so inappropriate,² Dickison added.
³Instead of them strutting their stuff, they should do educational
activities ‹ have a display about the rules, etc., instead of their
Gestapo
tactics.²
Despite the raid, Johnson is looking forward, planning shows at the
Convention Center through 2006.
³I¹m not going to stop because of this,² said Johnson. ³What doesn¹t
hurt
you makes you stronger. The best thing is watching the kids get their
first
reptile.²
The Nov. 27 show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Children 10 and under are
admitted free. There will not be a December show because of the
Christmas
holiday.
--
Jeanette Kendall
Editor
East Peoria Times-Courier
692-6600 ext. 236

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;( , Wow what a day. How many little kids do you have to scare to prove your point? I feel many of those kids will always have a bad impression now about Police Officers and what they do after the DNR comes into a place and NEVER anouced who they were or what they were doing, just shut the door entrapping them for over a hour. Little Billy and little Sally are very impressionable at those young ages, and since NO ONE knew what was going on except big people with guns locking them up, that is sad, it is a SAD day in this world to have so called people like this serving us the People of IL.Since the DNR feels they do not have to educate Vendors or the public for that matter, what are they doing constructive anyway with there time except slithering around? This was a big waist of time and the City of East Peoria feels this way too. East Peorians are very upset about this whole John wayne Cowboy shoot from the hip deal. Does the DNR ever make mistakes and admit it or apologize for it? They need to do something for all these children, maybe go to local schools and educate them about these secret laws that are almost impossible to find by a normal person. Lots of Parents are very upset and want an apology.............

I will get the article and post it here soon. It States how the people of Utah are very disgruntled with the same type of tactics used by the local DNR. Not just herpers, but everyone. It seems like the job just seems to get to their head and they have to make mountains out of molehills. I think giving them guns was a bad mistake. They should have real policemen assist them if they need guns present. I can't even imagine why they thought they would need guns at an exhibition like this, with children present. Maybe they would have to defend themselves from an 8 year old ghoul, LOL. Why would they just not site the person without a big display. Do they close down a freeway and check everyone because one guy was caught speeding. I think not. Waste of taxpayer money. My 2 cents...Ric Blair

If you live in a different city call your local paper and make them aware of the breaking story in Peoria.

Tell your representative and local news outlet how DNR was herding women and children around displaying guns.

Demand to know why so much time and money was wasted on one $75 ticket.

Keep the pressure on and do not let up. Get ever person who was present that day to write letters and make phone calls.

DNR is not above the law and it is our job to make sure this stops!

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Turtle soup, sure. But turtle coffee?

By Hieu Pham
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Ainsworth resident Marjorie Morris found this dead baby turtle Sunday in her package of Folgers coffee. Washington Evening Journal / C.T. Kruckeberg

All Marjorie Morris wanted to do was pour her freeze-dried coffee into a canister.

But as she dipped into the package of Folgers, she got an unexpected surprise -- a dead baby turtle.

"I thought it was a toy at first," said Morris, 77, of Ainsworth.

Morris said she usually purchased two-pound bags of freeze-dried coffee to pour into a canister. On Sunday, Morris said she was scooping into the package when she hit something hard.

After removing what looked like a block of condensed coffee, Morris shook off the coffee grains and discovered a dead baby turtle about two inches in diameter.

Morris said she already had been making coffee from the same package for a month before the discovery.

"It's a responsibility of the company to check their shipments closer," she said. "It could be much more serious,"

Morris said she had no plans to file a lawsuit against Folgers, even though her call to customer service was met with coldness and what she said seemed like a "brush off."

"(The customer service representative) tried to pass it off as though it's nothing unusual. ... It seemed like they had similar things happen (before)," she said.

Because many Folgers plants are based in New Orleans, the representative explained that the turtle might have been a result of flooding from Hurricane Katrina, Morris said.

"It makes you think ... it is not just Folgers, it could be anything that is packed on the coast or any place with the hurricane trouble and flood trouble," she said.

But Sussane Dussing, the spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble, which has owned the Folgers brand since 1963, said it was too early to tell.

Dussing said although more than 50 percent of Folgers' production is based in New Orleans, there was not enough information available to explain the turtle.

Also, Dussing said she was not aware of similar incidents and said the company would immediately begin an investigation.

The turtle, meanwhile, is in Morris' safekeeping, where she said it would remain to show her grandchildren.

Although the experience has turned her into a much more mindful consumer, Morris said she would continue to drink coffee.

She said things could have been worse.

"It could've been a snake," Morris said.

Let us know what you think of this story...

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OH THAT HAS DNR WRITTEN ALL OVER IT

This type of inappropriate DNR enforcement activity should be publicized to sportsmans (hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation)organizations. They pay license fees that finance IL DNR enforcement and I am sure that they would be very interested in seeing how their enforcement money is spent on this much manpower for something that has nothing to do with improving wildlife conservation or improving outdoor recreation for IL citizens.
In my state of WI, wildlife poaching and thrill killling, illegal ATV riders tresspassing on private property and causing environmental damage, hunters shooting each other, fish kills due to manure and chemical spills, are all in the news headlines all the time and our DNR has its hands full addressing all that, and doesnt have time to harass pet shows. Apparently your state has none of these problems, and IL DNR has nothing else to do but raid your shows. IL residents need to write to your state reps and tell them that they need to cut state funding to the IL DNR since they are obviously overstaffed.
Ed Stone, WI Herpetological Society Events Coordinator
WI Herp. Society